Guinea's new president, Alpha Conde, began forming his cabinet on Thursday with the nomination of a minister of state and cabinet director, according to an announcement on state television. Conde won a hotly contested Nov. 7 election billed as the country's first free poll since independence from France in 1958, completing a transition from nearly two years of military leadership. Mohamed Diane, a member of Conde's RPG party, was named cabinet director, and Francois Louceny, one of his rivals in the first round of the election in June, as minister of state, Reuters quoted the statement as saying. Guinea is the world's largest supplier of aluminium ore bauxite and players in the mining industry are eager to know Conde's choice for energy and mines minister. Observers are also watching to see if Conde follows through on a promise to include members of his chief rival Cellou Dalein Diallo's camp in a national unity government to ease ethnic tensions that resurfaced during the campaign.
